Garbage Pin Project Exhibit

The traveling exhibit, Garbage Pin Project, aims to bring environmental awareness and an artistic aspect to the old adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Currently on its Los Angeles stop at Touch, the Garbage Pin Project is one of the biggest group shows that can fit on one wall yet. Filling five tiny plastic bags, 90 international artists display their interpretation of value versus waste.

Ana Cardim, the Portuguese curator of the show, began asking artists in January 2008 to participate; eight months later, she received miniature bags filled with the results, which ranged from urine and locked compartments to figurines and cigarette butts. Cardim tells CH that the collection of objects can be seen as a type of catharsis for the artist or their individual statements about the urban world.